Colonel Daddy
by Aaunty Pasta
Summary: Two children have been living alone since the culling of their planet. When Sheppard’s team discovers them lost and alone, they become attached to the colonel and he finds himself liking playing daddy.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Colonel Daddy

AUTHOR: Aunty Pasta

SUMMARY: Two children have been living alone since the culling of their planet. When Sheppard's team discovers them lost and alone, they become attached to the colonel and he finds himself liking playing daddy.

RATING: K

DISCLAIMERS: No pairing unless you count a certain colonel and the kids he gets to play daddy to.

FEEDBACK: Enjoyed, respected and encouraged.

BETA READERS:

DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere. Just ask first so I know where it is.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Special thanks to my sister and niece for the names for Mothie and Isolder.

I am wondering if this is worth finishing. Please read and review and let me know what you think.

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The village was way too quiet. Nothing moved except the wind. The really weird thing was, the village was completely intact.

Going house to house, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard found no signs of life at all until he came to a little house near the other end of town from where they had started. Rodney had gone on to the next house and Teyla and Ronan were covering them outside. Dirty plates littered the floor, much like they had in every other house, but the food remnants on some of them were fresh.

"Looks like I've got something…" he began then stopped at the clatter from the next room.

"What is it?" came Teyla's voice over the radio.

"Stand by," he replied and held his gun at the ready. A curtain hung in a doorway, hanging down to about a foot above the floor. Sheppard ducked down to peer under the curtain and spied a small set of hands pressed to the floor just out of his normal view. At the base of the curtain were crumbs of food, scattered like so much dust.

Standing up straight once again, he pulled out a chocolate bar and unwrapped it. He sat on the floor against the wall next to the curtain and broke off a chunk. "Man, is this candy good," he said just loud enough for the owner of the hands to hear. "I wish I had someone to share it with."

As he sat and listened, there was a soft rustle as the hands came fully into view beside him. "What is candy?" a small voice asked.

He placed the piece he had broken off on the floor near the hands. "It's good," Sheppard replied. "Go ahead. Try some."

One of the hands hesitantly picked up the piece of chocolate and disappeared back behind the curtain. Seconds later, the small voice spoke again. "Can I have some more?"

Sheppard smiled and broke off another piece of the candy. "Here ya go." He placed the brown square in a small palm. "I'm John," he went on. "What's your name?"

He waited a few minutes while she consumed her prize. "Mothie," she replied.

"Are you here by yourself?"

"No," Mothie replied. "My brother went to look for more food."

"Where are your parents?"

She was silent for a minute. "The Wraith took them," she said so softly, he almost couldn't hear her. "The Wraith took everybody."

"I'm sorry," Sheppard said, softly. They were both silent for a minute before he spoke again. "You can have the rest of the chocolate bar if you come out."

After a few more minutes of silence, she slowly crawled out to sit in front of Sheppard. He held up the remainder of the chocolate bar and smiled as she took it. He watched her quickly consume the rest of the candy, gauging her age to be six or seven. "Do you know where your brother went?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to answer when a blood-curdling scream interrupted. Before Sheppard could get off the floor to find out what had happened, Mothie was in his lap and clinging to him. "It's the Wraith!" she exclaimed.

Sheppard held her close and stood, using the wall for support. "If it were the Wraith," he explained. "My friends would have seen them and signaled me."

"How?"

He tapped the radio in his vest. "It's called a radio." He tapped the button to speak into the device. "What was that?"

"Ronan was attacked by a boy hiding in the bushes near one of the houses," Teyla reported.

Sheppard looked at Mothie. "It's probably Isolder," she stated. "He has been taking care of me."

Sheppard nodded then spoke into the radio once again. "Don't hurt him," he told them. "I'll be right there." He tried to put Mothie down but she clung to him. "You need to get down," he told her. She quickly shook her head. "We're going to find your brother."

"I don't want you to leave me," she whispered.

"I was planning on taking you with me," he told the child as he wrapped his arms back around her. "But I was hoping you would walk."

She was still for several minutes before he felt her nod into his shoulder. She let him slide her to the ground then gripped his hand like she would never let go. He bent to look in her sparkling green eyes as she pushed away the dirty red curls that had fallen in her face. "Let's go find out what's going on with your brother."

Mothie nodded and walked with him out the door.

Sheppard walked out the door of the house with Mothie's little hand still clutching his, only to find Ronan holding a boy of about twelve up by his arm at arm's length. The boy swung his hand at Ronan, trying to hit him and missing by a good foot each time.

"Let me GO!" he was demanding. Ronan looked over at Sheppard.

Sheppard nodded and then added, "Gently. Don't drop him."

Ronan put the struggling boy gently on his feet and released him. Angrily, the boy turned and kicked the Runner hard in the leg. Ronan let out a very un-Ronan-like yelp and hopped back as the boy retreated behind Sheppard and his sister. Rodney choked back laughter from next to Teyla.

Sheppard looked over his shoulder at him. "You Isolder?" The boy nodded. "I'm John."

"Who's he?" Isolder asked with a nod to where Ronan stood glaring at him.

Sheppard squatted down in front of the boy. "That's Ronan," he told him. "He's a friend of mine. He wouldn't hurt a fly." Sheppard looked back at the still glowering Ronan. "Unless it was Wraith." He paused as he studied the boy. "You're not Wraith, are you?"

Beside him, Mothie giggled. "Of course not," Isolder replied.

"Good, good," Sheppard said with a nod. "The other two, they're some more of my friends." He pointed at Rodney and Teyla. "That's McKay and that's Teyla."

Isolder peeked around Sheppard as he introduced the others and nodded. Sheppard looked back at Isolder and Mothie. "What do you think we should do with you?"

"Can we go home with you?" Mothie asked. Isolder poked her with an elbow and gave her a dirty look.

Sheppard looked at Isolder. "You want to stay here? Alone? With no one to take care of you?"

Isolder puffed out his chest. "I can take care of myself."

"Her too?" Sheppard nodded to Mothie where she still clung to the colonel's hand.

Isolder let out a breath. "I could use some help," he admitted.

Sheppard nodded in understanding. "Then you can come home with me," he said. "Come on."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Isolder came through the gat just behind Sheppard and his sister and stopped in his tracks, looking up and up and up into the ceiling of the gate room. "Wow!" he whispered.

"Wow's a good word for it," John said as the gate shut down and both children jumped. "It's just the gate shutting down," John soothed. He let both children get a good look around before urging them forward.

"It's HUGE!" Mothie said from John's arms. She had gotten tired during the trek to the gate and John had offered to carry her.

"And this is just the Gate room," John said as Weir approached.

"Looks like you've picked up a couple of hitchhikers," she said.

"Yeah," John replied. "This is Mothie," nodded to the child in his arms. "And the one trying to look like he's not hiding behind me is Isolder."

The boy in question peeked out from behind the Colonel then ducked back into hiding. Mothie peeked out under her arm at Weir then ducked back like her brother had. "Kids," John said. "This is Dr. Elizabeth Weir."

"Nice to meet you both," Weir replied.

"Are you really a doctor?" Isolder asked as he peeked out from behind John once again.

"Yes," Weir said as she bent slightly to be more at the boy's level. "But not the kind of doctor you are probably thinking." She squatted. "I'm what we call a Ph.D."

Isolder nodded and looked up at John. "I thought you said there was gonna be a doctor to make sure Mothie and I weren't sick."

"There is," John said. "He's waiting for you in the infirmary."

Mothie lifted her head. "Are you gonna stay with us during the exta, stamin, samin…"

"Examination," John provided. "I'll be there."

"Will it hurt?" Isolder asked Weir.

She shook her head. "Nope," she replied. "Would you like me to escort you down?"

Isolder grasped John's sleeve. "Do you have to?"

Weir smiled in surprise. "I always escort visiting dignitaries to the infirmary."

Isolder looked up at John and he nodded at the boy. Reluctantly, he took Weir's offered hand and they led the way.

"John?" came Mothie's tiny voice in his ear.

"Yeah, Mothie?"

"What's a dignitary?"

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"They're both a wee bit undernourished," Beckett told John as the latter sat on the bed next to the Mothie. Isolder sat across from them on the next bed. "But otherwise, they in good health."

"Good," John said with a nod. Beckett only smiled and walked away to treat the rash McKay was complaining loudly about. John snorted as his friend held up his forearm and pointed out the red and bumpy skin.

"It's only a wee heat rash," John heard as he led the children from the infirmary.

"What now?" Mothie said then yawned.

"I think we should get you two something to eat then settle you into bed," John said as he took children by the hand and led them off toward the mess hall.

"I'm not tired," Isolder said.

"You've had a big day," John said. "And I have to go debrief my team."

"What's debrief?" Mothie asked.

John bit back a remark that shouldn't be said in front of children. "My friends are going to tell me what happened on that planet from their point of view."

Mothie clutched his hand in both of hers. "You're not gonna leave us?"

John stopped and got down at her level "Only for a little bit," he told her. "You're safe here." He looked from her to her brother and back. "You trust me, don't you?"

Mothie nodded vigorously. Isolder looked concerned but slowly nodded. Then he looked thoughtful. "Shouldn't we be debriefed, too?"

John looked at Mothie who once again nodded vigorously. John snorted then shook his head. "You have a point," he said. He took their hands and stood. "I think the briefing can wait until tomorrow."

"But I'm not tired," Isolder repeated before a yawn betrayed him.

John snorted again. "If you want to go to the debriefing with me tomorrow, you need to get some rest."

"After food?" Mothie asked. "Right?"

"Right."

"What are we going to eat?" Isolder asked.

John grinned as he looked down at Isolder. "My favorite," he replied. "Macaroni and cheese."

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"You're right," Isolder said with a yawn as he snuggled under the covers on John's bed. Mothie was already asleep beside him. "Macaroni and cheese is wonderful."

John grunted, still a bit upset at having lost the argument of where they would sleep to the now comfortably sleeping Mothie. The children snuggled up on either side of him in the too-small bed. The room fell quiet.

"John?" Isolder asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Isolder?"

"Are you sure the Wraith won't get us here?"

"Yeah," John replied.

"How do you know?"

"Because they don't know we're here."

"They don't?"

"Nope." John replied. "Now close your eyes and go to sleep."

The room was quiet for several more minutes. "John?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving us," the boy replied.

"You're welcome," John replied.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

John woke with a start a few hours later to Mothie's screams.

"Don't go! Don't go!" she screamed and writhed beside him.

"Mothie wake up!" John said as he gently shook the terrified child. Green eyes popped open but were unfocused.

Isolder leaned across John and took her hand. "The Wraith won't come here," he told her. "We're safe now."

Mothie started to cry. "I saw mommy and daddy leaving us at the tree," she cried. "Then daddy turned around and it was John." John pulled her close in his arms. "Then the beam came along and swept him away."

"I'm here," John soothed. "And I'm not leaving."

Mothie pulled away to look John in the face. "Promise?"

The tears on Mothie's cheeks broke his heart. "I promise," he said although he knew in his heart it was probably the wrong thing to say. It had the desired effect, however, and Mothie snuggled back down in John's arms and closed her eyes. John gently kissed her forehead. "Goodnight sunshine," he said quietly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Shh," John hushed Elizabeth softly and gestured to the bed where his two guests still slept. "They had a bit of a rough night last night," he whispered.

"How so?" Elizabeth whispered back.

"Mothie had a pretty bad nightmare," he replied, still whispering.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elizabeth whispered back as she stepped back out into the hall where John joined her. "I was hoping we could discuss what to do with them."

John glanced back at the sleeping children as Isolder rolled over in his sleep. "They need security."

"I know," Elizabeth replied. "And though I know you would love to keep them here, the best place for them is the mainland with the Athosians."

"They've kind of grown attached to me," John said as he glanced back at them again.

Elizabeth smiled at John's concern. "They're not the only ones who have grown attached."

John looked back at Elizabeth in surprise. At her knowing smile, he rolled his eyes. "I'm not that attached."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Right," she said.

John ran his hand through his hair and looked back at her. "Is it that transparent?"

Elizabeth nodded. "You can go visit them whenever you want or whenever they need you." She fell silent as John turned to watch the still sleeping children. "You know it's best for them."

Finally, John nodded. "Not yet though," he said.

"When you're ready," Elizabeth said. "But it needs to be soon. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

John nodded and turned away from the children to watch Elizabeth leave. As he did, he didn't notice that Isolder had woken and had been watching them sadly through barely open eyes.

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	2. Chapter 2

Colonel Daddy part 2

See part 1 for info and disclaimers.

For those who have been waiting for it, here is part two. Not as long as part one, but I got a little stuck trying to write this. That, plus, my dust bunnies under my bed wouldn't let me have my lost mind back until I appeased them with an SG-1 story, which I did. Now, I think I can finish this sometime in the next few, uh… weeks?

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When John disappeared into the bathroom, Isolder opened his eyes and sat up. He shook his sister until she woke and shushed her before she could say anything. "We're leaving," he told her as he pulled her out of bed.

"Why?"

"Because they are going to make us go live away from Colonel John," he replied.

"Why?" Mothie repeated.

"I don't think Dr. Weir wants us here," Isolder told her.

"I want to stay with John," Mothie said as she rubbed her eyes.

"I do to, but I think he is going to send us away because Dr. Weir wants him to."

"Why would he do that? I thought he liked having us here."

"He does like having us here," Isolder explained. "But he has to follow orders and if Dr. Weir doesn't want us here, we have to go."

"I like Dr. Weir. She called us dignitaries."

I solder snorted and took her hand. "I don't think she likes us."

They both looked at the bathroom as the shower started. Isolder moved to the bed and arranged the blankets and pillows to look like they still slept. He took his sister's hand and opened the door. With a quick peek to make sure that no one was coming, he led her from the room.

"Where are we going?" Mothie asked.

"We're going to sneak down to the kitchen and get some food, then we'll find someplace to hide until we can sneak back through the gate."

"That's not much of a plan," Mothie said.

"What do you want to do?" Isolder demanded.

"I want to go back to John," Mothie said. "He'll take care of us. He promised."

"Don't you get it," Isolder said forcefully. "Dr. Weir is in charge of the city and will make us go away whether we or Colonel John want us to or not." Mothie began to tear up. "I'm sorry, Mothie. I'll take care of you. I promise."

Finally, Mothie wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and let Isolder lead her away. At the junction at the end of the hall, they made a left on their way to find some food.

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John came out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel and glanced to the sleeping lumps on the bed. He dropped the towel on the pile that needed washed and looked back at the bed with a smile. As he watched, the smile melted away as it occurred to him that there was no movement from the bed. He pulled away the blankets to find two kid-shaped piles of pillows under them. He swore and grabbed his radio before heading out the door.

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John burst into the conference room. "Has anyone seen Mothie and Isolder?" he asked breathlessly.

"No," Elizabeth said as Ronan, Teyla and Rodney shook their heads, no.

"They were gone when I came out of the shower," he said as he paced. "I've been everywhere. The mess, the rec hall, infirmary. I even checked the labs!"

"They don't know the city," Teyla pointed out. "Some areas could still have hidden dangers."

"I know!" John said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Calm down, John," Elizabeth said. "We'll go use the internal sensors to find them. If they've gone away from the populated areas, they should be easy to find."

John nodded and followed Elizabeth out to the control room. The rest of his team joined them and Rodney took a seat at the controls. He brought the city up on the sensor screen and studied it. "There," he said as he pointed to two dots in the northern section of the city.

"Do we know what's down there?" John asked.

"Not yet," Rodney replied. "That is a section we haven't explored."

John's head fell and he rubbed his eyes before tapping his earpiece. "Lorne, come in." Lorne answered and John went on. "Get together a few teams and head out to the north pier as soon as they're ready... The kids took off and sensors show that they're in that section... We'll be heading out that way in a few minutes ourselves... Good, thanks." He tapped it again to end the connection. He turned to Rodney. "You stay and keep an eye on the sensors. We'll take a life sign detector to use when we get closer."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Do you even know where we are?" Mothie asked.

"Yes!" Isolder hissed as they passed a crooked door. "Now hush."

Isolder led his sister through a maze of debris determinedly. They went out onto a shaded balcony with a broken railing. "I don't think they'll find us out this far," he said finally.

"What about the broken railing?" Mothie pointed.

"Just stay away from it," Isolder replied.

"What about when John comes looking for us?" Mothie went on. "He'll probably be mad."

"I don't think they'll be coming after us," her older brother replied.

"John will," Mothie insisted. "He promised he would always be there."

"Mothie," Isolder explained, calmly. "Sometimes adults make promises they don't intend to keep to make children feel better." Mothie sniffed a couple of times then began to cry. Isolder took her in his arms. "I'm not an adult, Mothie. I keep my promises and I promise I will take care of you."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Do you know how much of a cliché this is?" Rodney asked John as he pointed the way to where the children were from his computer in the control room. "Turn right then keep going straight down that hall."

John made the turn and headed down the hall followed by Ronan and Teyla. "Rodney, what are you talking about?"

"In every TV show with kids, this happens at least once," Rodney replied. "On 'Little House on the Prairie', Laura ran away after her baby brother died because she thought it was her fault he died."

"That's TV, Rodney," John replied. "As in, NOT REAL!"

"Yeah, well, still cliché," he replied. "They've stopped moving about two-hundred feet ahead of your current position."

John lifted the life signs detector. "Yeah, I'm getting them now." He walked a few steps and they started moving again. "They've started moving again."

"I see it," Rodney said. "They're moving away from you."

John sped up his pace. "Shit!" Rodney suddenly exclaimed. "One of the dots just dropped off the sensors."

John felt a knot in his abdomen as he looked down at his life sign detector. "I'm still getting them both, but one is on a different level."

"He or she must have fallen into a dead area," Rodney told him. "A place where the sensors have been damaged or aren't working."

John quickened his pace. "Beckett is coming with Lorne's team isn't he?"

"Yes," Rodney replied. "Did you grab climbing equipment?"

"Yeah," John replied. "We're almost there!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Mothie crossed her arms and stomped her foot. "This was a bad idea!" she insisted. "I'm going back!" She stomped back into the city with Isolder following.

He grabbed her arm. "We'll be OK here until we can sneak through the gate and go home." He released her. "What if Mom and Dad are waiting at home for us. They promised they would come back for us."

"They can't come back," Mothie insisted. "The Wraith took them."

"You can't know that," Isolder argued.

"Yes I can," Mothie said. "I saw the Wraith ship fly down and take them."

"How did you see that?"

"I peeked," Mothie said, crying. "They were running and the beam just sucked them up."

Isolder was quiet. "I'm sorry," he said finally. "If you really think that Colonel John will come for us, we should stay here." He tried to take her hand but she jerked it away.

"NO!" she screamed. "I'm going back!" She began to run away from her brother.

"Mothie stop!" Isolder ran after her. A loud groan stopped him. "Mothie stop!"

"No!" Mothie screamed as she ran. The groan became louder and Mothie slid to a stop. She covered her ears as the sound got louder she screamed as the floor beneath her tilted and she began to slide downward. "Isolder!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I was going to go a different direction with this, but when I read it to my 7-year-old niece and asked her what she would do if she were Mothie and Isolder, she told me she would run away. So here I go. Down the path to cliché.


	3. Chapter 3

Colonel Daddy part 3

See part 1 for info and disclaimers.

Here, my dear audience, is what I hope will be my final part. Please read and review, as I will be waiting with baited breath for your responses.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Mothie!" Isolder screamed as his sister disappeared through the gap made by the faulty floor plating. He lay at the edge of the gap, looking over in a frantic search for his sister. She lay precariously on the edge of the plating, holding onto the edge for dear life, her legs hanging over a void of black. "I'll get help!"

Isolder ran off. He barely got around the corner when he ran headlong into Colonel Sheppard. "Isolder!" he said with relief as he grasped the boy in a tight hug.

Isolder began to cry. "It's my fault," he sobbed.

"You're all right," John told him then looked around with a start. "Where's Mothie?"

"She fell," Isolder replied. "The floor broke and she slid down into it."

"Where?" John asked.

"I'll take you," Isolder told him as he took his hand to lead him.

John tapped his earpiece and reported in to Elizabeth. "We've found them, but Mothie has fallen through the floor. Tell Beckett to hurry." He broke the connection just as they reached the gap. He shone his light down into the crevice. "I don't see her."

Isolder looked too. "She was right there," he said. "She must have fallen off!"

John knelt and grasped the boy by his shoulders. "Calm down, we'll get her," he told him. "We have to go slowly, or she may fall more and get hurt. Got it?" Isolder nodded. John turned and peered down the hole himself. "Mothie!" he called as he shone a light down the crevice. "You just hang tight and hold as still as you can! We're coming to get you!"

Minutes ticked by as they set up the descender over the hole and John strapped on a climbing harness. Finally, he was ready to go. He nodded to Isolder before he disappeared over the edge.

Slowly, John descended into the hole, shining the light down and calling the child's name. The further down he went, the larger the lump on his stomach got. Finally, he called for them to stop and listened intently.

"Colonel John?" Mothie's tiny voice pierced the dark.

"Mothie?" John called. "You OK?"

"My leg hurts," came the reply.

John listened, but the voice seemed to be coming from above him. "Mothie, can you see me?"

"Yes," she replied. "You just passed me."

"I'm sorry, honey," John told her. "I'll come back up and when you see me, you tell me to stop. And make sure you talk very loud so I can hear you." He tapped his earpiece. "Start bringing me up slowly. Stop when I tell you."

Teyla acknowledged him and he slowly began to rise. Minutes ticked by until he heard Mothie's little voice. "Stop!"

"Stop here," John said then shone his light around at his level. He smiled when he saw her sitting on a piece of metal jutting from a column just twelve feet from him. "Are you hurt?"

"My leg hit the edge of this thingy when I landed on it and now it hurts," Mothie replied. "Really bad."

"We'll get you out," John told her. "I want you to move as far back as you can, OK?"

She nodded and slid back against the wall. John pumped his legs until he began to swing and swung until he was within reach of the column. He grabbed it and held on until he was sure of his right arm's grip then he held out his left hand. Mothie wasn't the least bit hesitant and leapt into John's waiting arms. She clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder where she began to cry.

"It's going to be fine," John soothed and he let go very slowly. They swung back and forth as he soothed the frightened child until they stopped. John signaled to the others to pull them up.

"Isolder said that Dr. Weir is going to send us away," Mothie sniffed as they began to ascend.

"She suggested that I take you to the mainland where you'll be safe and well taken care of," John told her. "But I wanted to talk to you guys before doing anything. Maybe take a trip to the mainland so you can meet everyone. I wasn't going to just dump you there among people you don't know or make the decision without you and your brother." He looked down at the child in his arms. "You OK?"

Mothie nodded. "I'm OK," she replied. "'Sept my leg. Isolder should have talked to you before he dragged me away, huh?"

"Yeah," John said. "He should have."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Mothie lay in an infirmary bed, her left leg encased in a small cast and propped up on a pillow. Isolder sat at the foot of the bed as John paced in front of them. "That was a stupid thing to do," he was saying. "You shouldn't have jumped to the conclusion that we don't want you here." He stopped and looked Isolder in the eye. "I want you here."

"I'm sorry, Colonel John," Isolder whispered. "I got scared."

John pulled up a chair and sat down. "I know," John replied. "Life is scary sometimes."

"Are you going to send us to the mainland?" the boy asked.

John looked uncomfortable. "I don't know," he said.

"We'll be safer on the mainland," Isolder said sadly.

"Not necessarily," John replied. "There are dangers on the mainland, too."

"Then why?"

"I can't take care of you alone, though I'd certainly like to try," John said. "I've got duties to perform; and I can't take you with me on missions."

"Then try, Colonel John," Mothie spoke for the first time since being rescued. "We want to stay with you."

John looked back and forth from child to child. He swallowed at the lump in his throat and smiled. "I want that too."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You want to keep them here?" Elizabeth asked incredulously.

"Yeah," John replied, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stood against the door in Elizabeth's office. "They don't know anyone on the mainland and they promise to stay out of trouble."

"While I don't mind for the most part…" John's grin widened. "What are you going to do with them while you're on missions?"

"There are a couple of nurses who are getting a bit attached and they've offered to keep an eye on them," John replied.

"Attached to them," Elizabeth asked with a sly grin. "Or you?"

John blushed slightly as the smile melted from his face. Elizabeth watched him for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Are you sure?"

John looked thoughtful. "I am." He smiled cockily.

"OK," Elizabeth said.

John stood straight. "That's it? Just OK?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Do you want me to start the paperwork to adopt them?"

"Really?"

"I don't see why not," Elizabeth replied. "If you think you can handle it."

"With help," John began. "I know I can."

"I'll give you as much help as I can," Elizabeth told him. "I'll even watch them when you're gone. If you'd like."

"I may take you up on that," John said. He gestured over his shoulder with a thumb. "I'm going to go tell them."

"By all means," Elizabeth said and John turned to leave. "Daddy."

John was almost laughing as he left the room.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Mothie and Isolder were sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when John practically skipped into the infirmary. "Hey kids," he greeted them.

"Hi, Colonel John," Mothie said with her mouth full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," John said. "Guess what?"

"What?" Isolder asked.

"Dr. Weir says you can stay in the city," John replied. He held his hand up to stop them as the children began to get excited. "But there are some things we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Isolder asked before taking a drink of his chocolate milk.

John sat on the edge of Mothie's bed. "Dr. Weir says that she will start the paperwork so I can adopt you."

"What's adopt?" Mothie asked.

"Adopt means that I promise to take care of you forever," John said. "I'll be your dad."

"You'll never make us go away?" Isolder said.

"And you'll never leave us?" Mothie added.

"I can't promise that I'll never leave you," John replied. "Things happen and I still have duties here." He paused to gauge their reactions. "But you won't have to go away."

"Will we get to see your world?" Mothie asked.

"Probably, someday," John replied. He looked at them both. "Do you want to be my kids?"

"Yes!" they both cried, gaining stares from others working in the infirmary.

"What is going on here?" Beckett asked as he joined them from his office.

"Colonel John is going to adopt us!" Mothie screamed as she tried to jump into John's arms.

"Is he now?" Beckett replied as he gently picked her up from the bed and placed her carefully in the colonel's waiting arms. "I don't think you should be calling him Colonel John...," he went on sternly.

Isolder looked over John's shoulder at the doctor. "What are we supposed to call him?"

"Colonel Daddy," Beckett replied. He touched Mothie's head and grasped Isolder's hand before he walked away. John only smiled as he held his new daughter to his chest.

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Thanks to all who have reviewed. I hope you like the story and to those who have expressed interest in writing more of it, let me know and I will review it. Thanks!


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